“Mama.” The little girl reached out to Angel. Warm feelings filled her stomach. Not panic this time, but something else. Something soft and cuddly. She sat up and took the baby from his arms. Angel laid her cheek on the soft, silky hair and inhaled. Baby smells.
One step at a time. Babies were easy to love, and this one was no exception. Julia-Rose ran her chubby fingers over Angel’s face and giggled. Babies hadn’t played a big part in her life. In fact, she’d never even held one until today. This she could get used to.
“Hi, Julia-Rose,” she whispered.
Julia-Rose’s face screwed up and she whimpered.
Panic set in. Angel’s eyes darted to the kitchen where Nate had disappeared. “It’s all right.”
The baby opened her mouth and let out a wail that would surely raise the dead.
Angel’s mouth dried up. “Oh, oh, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” She looked around, frantic. The back door slammed. Nate had gone outside for something. None of the boys were around.
Angel jiggled the little girl. She cried harder, threw herself back, and since Angel wasn’t prepared for that, the baby landed with a thump on the settee. If possible, she cried harder. Oh God, suppose she’s broken?
The baby kicked her feet, catching Angel in her stomach. “Oomph.”
Maybe walking with the baby would work. The child flailed her arms and legs. No matter how many times Angel tried to grab hold of her, she wiggled, and scurried away.
“What’s all that racket? Why is my sister screaming?” Mark stood, hands fisted, glaring at Angel.
“I’m not sure.” She panted, still trying to wrestle the baby into her arms.
“You did something to her.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “No, I didn’t. She just started crying.”
Mark scowled, picked up the baby, who immediately stopped. Throwing a glance in Angel’s direction, he left the room with Julia-Rose smiling, her little nose all pink.
Angel collapsed on the settee. That went well.
What should she do now? The baby was quiet and Nate was still occupied. Too bad, because that gave her time to consider what she’d been pushing to the back of her mind for days. Since her stepmother’s shocking announcement, she had worried herself sick about performing the household duties of cleaning, cooking, laundry and numerous other things that hadn’t even occurred to her yet. Now that she was actually here, and aware of the warm, vital presence of Nathan Hale, she allowed herself to consider other wifely duties.
She remembered years ago, the girls at school would gather on their beds at night, and talk about boys. Never invited to join them, once in a while she would hear clips of the conversation, although mostly she remained ignorant of the whole procedure. However, she was intelligent enough to know Nate didn’t get all of these children by shaking his wife’s hand each night before they fell asleep.
The procedure involved naked bodies, and that thought made her seriously consider bolting from the house.
She wondered if her husband would give her time to adjust, as it were, to her role before he expected his husbandly rights.
Chapter 5
Once the last bite of supper was eaten, Angel managed to get the dishes washed with help from the boys. Her yellow dress was soaked down the front with soapy water. Tired of pushing her hair back while she worked, she’d quickly braided it, tied it with a piece of string one of the twins had given her, and let it hang down her back. She’d slipped her aching feet out of the dancing shoes she’d worn with this dress to a ball from a different lifetime. Barefoot was better than pain. Obviously her wardrobe would not work in her new environment.
She eased herself down on one of the kitchen chairs, and slumped over the table, her head resting on her crossed arms.
“Julia-Rose needs a bath.”
Her head jerked up. Nate stood in the doorway of the kitchen, holding the little girl in his arms. “If you get her bathed and settled for the night, I’ll see to the boys.”
“Oh.” She rose stiffly and took the drooling baby from his arms. Smashed peas decorated her hair, the remains of a biscuit stuck to her chin. But at least she wasn’t crying. Not yet, anyway.
Nate studied her for a minute. “The kitchen sink.”
“What?”
“The kitchen sink.” He gestured with his chin. “That’s where we give her a bath.”
“Oh.”